The Shape of Water
Written by Guillermo Del Toro & Vanessa Taylor
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Starring Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Jenkins
Fox Searchlight
Rated R | 123 Minutes
Release Date: December 15, 2017

You know pretty much when walking into a Guillermo del Toro movie that you’re in for a visual masterclass in filmmaking. Even the films of his I didn’t love (Hellboy 1 & 2, Crimson Peak) were beautiful to watch. But the films where he matches the visuals and production design with tour de force acting and writing become classics. Pan’s Labyrinth is one of most incredible films I have ever watched and The Shape of Water echoed it, exchanging the Spanish Civil War for The Cold War, and switching the lead protagonist from a young girl to an adult woman. It is beautiful, not just in imagery, but in characters. Like Pan’s, there’s a psychotic and powerful antagonist and an epic performance by the “Master of Disguise,” Doug Jones, this time as the “Amphibian Man.”

The Shape of Water
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Screenwriter: Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Rated R | 123 Minutes
Release Date: December 15, 2017

A native of Guadalajara, Mexico, Guillermo del Toro was fascinated as a child by fairy tales, ghost stories, and monster movies that ignited his imagination and compelled him to tell his own stories. When he started writing and directing films, those influences laid the foundation for del Toro’s uniquely expressive approach to genre filmmaking – a return to the dark romanticism of Universal horror films like 1931’s Frankenstein and Dracula.

Best known for his three Spanish-language films that upend conventional genre storytelling, Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, and Pan’s Labyrinth, del Toro weaves vivid phantasmagorias that capture the beauty and the horror of the human experience. His supernatural epics are equally as inventive, from Blade II and the Hellboy series, to Pacific Rim and his gothic romance, Crimson Peak. His new film, The Shape of Water, is the culmination of del Toro’s career thus far – the summation of everything the filmmaker has learned, refined and perfected.

The 2018 Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning, and as you can expect there were some big front runners, some questionable snubs, and even more questionable nominations. The announcement means that it is time to get ready for awards season. Check out the full list of nominations here below, along with some thoughts on who got nominated and snubbed.

Another trailer for Hideo Kojima‘s Death Stranding was shown during The Game Awards 2017 and, just like the first trailer featuring The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus and the second trailer from last year’s Game Awards featuring Guillermo del Toro and Mads Mikkelsen, it’s a real mindf’er.

The trailer once again features Reedus, as well as another baby (or perhaps the same baby!), terrifying giant ghostly beings, and much more to hurt your brain and leave you dumbfounded yet unbearably excited for whatever the shit this game is going to end up being.

Click on over to the other side to check out the latest trailer for Death Stranding.

Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is best known for dark fantasy pieces like Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Crimson Peak, as well as more mainstream action films, including Hellboy, its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and the science-fiction monster flick Pacific Rim.

His latest film, The Shape of Water, received critical praise and won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. The movie, about a mute custodian at a government laboratory who befriends a captured sea creature, opened in New York City on Friday, and will be expanding to more cities this week via Fox Searchlight.

Geeks Of Doom had the opportunity to talk to the director, producer, and writer to discuss his supernatural fairy tale’s production and the thinking that went into creating such a strange and beautiful world. Check out what del Toro had to say here below!